


Thanksgiving with Space Dad

by Ebhenah



Series: Falling Like Soaring [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Curtis and Shiro adopted 3 siblings, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Baggage, Found Family, Genderfluid Character, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Jewelry, Keith considers Shiro his brother, M/M, Moving On, Patient Keith, Post-Canon, Thanksgiving, cautious lance, remembering Allura
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21579586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebhenah/pseuds/Ebhenah
Summary: The night Lance told Keith he was in love with him, he also agreed to go with Keith to visit Shiro and his family. At the time he hadn't anticipated just how hectic Keith's schedule was. So, their 'low stakes weekend away' turned into a five day visit to celebrate Thanksgiving with Space Dad and his earth family.Lance is pretty sure he's ready for this step outside his comfort zone, but he's dealing with nerves... and seeing Keith outside of the little microcosm of the McClain family farm makes Lance realize some stuff about his boyfriend and their relationship that he's been avoiding.
Relationships: Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Keith & Curtis, Keith & Shiro, Keith & Shiro's children, Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance & Curtis, Lance & Shiro (Voltron), Lance & Shiro's children
Series: Falling Like Soaring [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1423456
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Thanksgiving with Space Dad

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to "Champagne Kisses" and "Sunsets and Cacti" and prequel to "The Last"

It had taken months to arrange the visit to Shiro’s. Keith’s schedule was erratic, at best, and the first time he had free time, Lance and his family had been in the middle of harvest. There was no way Lance was leaving them short-handed, so instead of whisking him away for the weekend, Keith had rolled up his sleeves and pitched in. Not for the first, Lance reflected on how easy it was for Keith to shift gears like that. He had a talent for finding a way to be part of Lance’s life without adding any pressure or the weight of expectation on him. His family had noticed, too. With the exception of Veronica, they rarely commented on it directly, but he knew how much they appreciated that Keith took it upon himself to learn farm life so that whatever was going on when he visited, he could contribute without having to be supervised.

So, their weekend away had ended up being Thanksgiving… and five days instead of three. Shiro and Curtis had a house in Garrison City, roughly an hour’s drive from the base. So, Keith had collected him from Cuba in his little ship and they’d docked at the Garrison proper, then borrowed a minivan, of all things, from a friend of Keith’s and drove out. 

The longer the commute took the more nervous Lance got- which he knew was ridiculous. He’d known Shiro and Curtis for years! They were pretty much family… and he’d spoken to the kids on vid-calls a bunch of times getting ready for this visit. Keith had even assured him that his gifts from Cuba would be big hits. Still, the closer they got, the more he fidgeted. Eventually, Keith pulled the van over to the side of the road and parked. According to the display on the console, they were just a few blocks from their destination. 

“We can turn around,” Keith said softly, eyes full of concern. Lance knew he was completely serious, too. If Lance said he wasn’t up to this, Keith would turn them around and head back to base. Then he’d happily go back to Lance’s family farm, or a hotel, or anything else Lance felt comfortable with. They argued, from time to time, but never about stuff like this. When it came to Lance stepping outside of his comfort zone, Keith was never anything less than supportive and patient. If it bothered him at all, he’d never given Lance any indication of it- and he tended to get fairly grumpy when Lance suggested it should.

“I know,” he sighed, “I know we can. I know you would give up Thanksgiving with them and never complain if I needed that. But I don’t. I don’t want to turn around. I’m just… on edge.”

“They’d understand, you know,” Keith pointed out.

“Two four year olds and a six year old would understand?”

“Three orphans would. They know grief, Lance.”

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, “right. Sorry… I’m… all up in my head.”

“Lance… this is a big step for you. I know that. We’ll do whatever you need to do, and I promise, they’ll understand if that means turning around right now… or leaving early. Okay?”

“Yeah… I’m okay. I am… I want to meet the kids for real. I want to see the guys. I just… needed a minute, I think.”

“You’re okay now?” Reaching out, Keith caught his hand and held it gently. “If you need more time…”

“I’m okay now,” he answered, leaning over to kiss Keith softly. The brush of their lips was fleeting, meant to reassure more than anything else, and then he was returning to his seat and smiling brightly. “Thanksgiving is going to be great. Nadia and Sylvio think they are too cool to have fun with us anymore and spend the whole time texting and vid-calling their friends, complaining that it’s ‘an American thing’ and it doesn’t make sense that our family celebrates it. Plus, Luis and Lisa are pretty sure Nads has a secret boyfriend… so that’s a whole _thing_.”

“Nadia’s too young for a boyfriend!” Keith blurted out, “she’s a baby!”

“You sound like my brother,” laughed Lance, “who is really unimpressed with me at the moment.”

“Why? What did you do?”

“I might have pointed out that Nadia is fourteen and when Luis was fourteen he was on his third girlfriend… and that when Pidge was fourteen she was a Paladin.”

“Nadia is _not_ fourteen… she’s like ten!”

“Interesting math you are using there, Mullet,” he teased. “She turned seven just before the Atlas launched. Seven years ago.”

“Oh my God,” Keith pulled a face, “Nadia is fourteen! _How?_ ”

“Time, man, it’s a bitch. Kids grow up way too fast! Sylvio is the same age I was when I moved into the dorms at the Garrison and I wouldn’t leave that kid alone in the house for a _night_ let alone live in a dorm. He’d never shower! Seriously, he’s would stinnnnk if he didn’t have Lisa screaming at him to bathe every day. His poor roommate!”

They were still chatting about Lance’s siblings’ kids when they pulled into the driveway beside Shiro’s own minivan. Only he and Veronica still hadn’t started families. Veronica insisted she and Acxa would have kids eventually, but that it wouldn’t be until they were ready to and then she’d glare at whoever mentioned it until they changed the subject.

As for him… Most of the time, he doubted he ever would. As much as he loved kids, it was hard to imagine he’d ever be ready to take on that responsibility- and he was with Keith now, who didn’t show any signs of wanting the kind of settled, domestic life that would work for kids. That was fine. He loved being an uncle.

He opened the tailgate but Keith elbowed ahead of him and grabbed both his suitcase and Keith’s own duffel, leaving Lance to carry the bag of gifts he’d brought for the kids and the food he’d made for the holiday meal. His mother hadn’t raised a rude guest!

“I can carry my suitcase, Keith,” he said, closing the back of the van.

“I got it,” Keith said easily, “you can get the door.”

Shiro had a literal white picket fence. For some reason, Lance found that funny. There was football gear all over the front yard, along with a plastic play house, and an actual _pile_ of brightly colored bicycles with baskets and the little light-up beads on the spokes. His smile turned into an actual chuckle when he saw the mailbox, painted with five stick figures, the one meant to represent Shiro missing the stick for his right upper arm, and the name “Shirogane-Hatzi” painted proudly above it. It wasn’t that he found it funny, just that it made him happy. Curtis had taken Shiro’s surname when they married, but when they adopted, they had hyphenated the kids’ surname… because Shiro said it wasn’t fair to ask the kids to change anything else, but they wanted them to see that they were all in this together. It was sweet. Cheesy as hell, but sweet… which fit Shiro, to be honest.

Keith saw what had caught his attention and snorted, “Shiro wanted to put a ship up in the corner to represent me. I don’t even get mail!”

“Not sure that was the point of including you, babe,” he snickered. “So… uh… should I ring the bell?”

“You could, but you don’t need t-” The door swung open and three children nearly toppled out of the frame, “woah! You guys are _giants!_ What did you do with my favorite kids? They look just like you but like… wayyy tinier!”

“Get out of the door! They can’t come in with you blocking the entrance like that,” Curtis appeared behind the squealing, giggling children, tugging two of them back into the house gently. “Make a path guys!” He shook his head, pulling the door and gesturing for them to come in.

Lance had almost forgotten how adorable Keith was with children, in general. But these were _Shiro’s_ kids and that meant that he saw them as family in a way he didn’t other kids. The instant he’d kicked off his shoes and set the suitcase and duffel aside, he swept all three of them up into his arms, hugging them tight. Curtis shook his head at their antics, but he was smiling.

“Welcome to our home, Lance,” he said warmly, “they’ll remember other people exist in the universe in a few minutes.”

“This is typical, huh?” he asked, smiling, “and thank-you for having me.”

Curtis nodded, “Takashi is out in the garden, he’ll be back any minute.”

“No rush,” he answered with a shrug, “we’re here until Sunday.”

Keith set the chattering kids down, all of them animatedly trying to talk over each other to fill him in on whatever news they were excited about. His hand tightened on the bag and once again he caught himself worrying that they wouldn’t like their gifts. 

Keith held his finger up to his lips and all three kids quieted down. Like magic. How’d he do that? “Okay! That’s better- now I can tell what you are saying. So! First things first!” He crouched down in front of the smallest of the kids, “what am I calling you today, sweetie?” 

“Kitty!” the little one answered proudly, “today, I’m Kitty!”

“You got it, Kitty,” Keith answered, kissing Kitty’s forehead, “now- I can’t get to your presents until I unpack and I can’t unpack until I get to my room and I can’t get to my room until alllll you guys go introduce yourselves to Lance, and show him where we’re going to be sleeping… and then we will do gifts and you can tell me all your news. Deal?”

“Deal!” they chorused and just like that, Lance was practically tackled and Keith plucked the bag out of his hand with a grin.

He laughed, shaking his head, “okay, okay… I’m pretty sure I know who’s who here. You….” Grinning impishly, he pointed to the tallest of them. She had large brown eyes, gently curling black hair that fell past her shoulders, skin close in color to his own and was wearing a brightly colored princess costume. “Hmmm… yeah… you are definitely Curtis.”

“Noooo!” She giggled, pointing at the tall man beside him, “Daddy is Curtis! I’m Adelpha!”

“Adelpha! Adelpha, right. I knew that. You’re the one that likes rocks.”

“Nooooo!” The next tallest elbowed her way in front of Adelpha, “I wike rocks! I wike _fossohs_ the best, but rocks are cooo, too.” Dark brows furrowed, hands in fists on her hips, she glared at him. Dressed in overalls that were probably supposed to stay clean and tidy until the guests arrived, but still managed to have dirt ground into the knees and smeared near the pockets, she shared a lot of features with her elder sister, but hadn’t quite lost that toddler sturdiness yet and her hair was shorter- which Lance knew was because of an incident involving bubblegum and a baseball cap. 

“Ahh… you are Safiya… well, I’m sorry. I didn’t bring you any fossils from Cuba.” He made a face and turned to pull a robotic T-Rex out of the bag that Keith was holding for him, “just this dinosaur.”

Her eyes got huge and her jaw dropped and she let out an excited screech that ran the risk of shattering crystal. He held it out to her and she clutched it to her chest, hopping frantically from one foot to the other and babbling thank-yous so fast that they were all running together and within a few seconds started to sound more like ‘ankooankoo’ than actual words.

“You’re welcome,” he chuckled.

“He made sure to get the very coolest one in the store,” Keith said, “you should check out what all the buttons do.”

“ _After_ you welcome Lance, Safi, he’s never been here before.”

“Wewcome to our house, Wance!” she said in a rush.

“Thank-you, Safiya,” he replied dutifully, “I’m glad you like it.”

“Wike it? I _wuv_ it!” She ran over to Curtis, “Daddy, wook!”

Chuckling, he turned to the last child, the only one with light hair. It fell in their face and curled at the back of their neck into a riot of little ringlets. Shorter and thinner than their sisters, but possessing the same huge, warm brown eyes and a shy smile, they waved, “hi!”

“Hey, Kitty,” he said softly. Some kids you didn’t start off teasing, you had to build up to it. This was definitely one of those kids. “That’s what you want us to call you today, right?” They nodded. “But tomorrow it might be different. I know that, so I’ll remember to ask.”

“Some days, I’m a girl,” they said, “today is a girl day.”

Lance nodded, “you got it, sweetie. I have a present for you, too. I know you really like butterflies...”

“And moffs,” she answered, “moffs are cool, too!”

“Moths are pretty cool,” he agreed. He’d done _research_ for this trip! He was fully prepared to talk about butterflies and moths, football, dinosaurs, fossils, rocks, ballet, fairytales, unicorns and every other subject these kids were currently fascinated with. Keith held the bag out for him and he pulled out a box for Kitty. “So… your gift has two parts,” he explained, “the first is pretty boring- it’s just a book. Cuba, where I live, has _lots and lots_ of different kinds of butterflies and they are allll in that book. The second part… well, it’s a book, too- _but_ it’s a kind of coloring book that has a bunch of the prettiest butterflies and moths in Cuba for you to color, and punch out and then you can make cool stuff with them. There’s a mobile, and a picture frame… and a thing that you put on a string and twist and pull and it looks like it is real!” There were also some coloring supplies, but Lance doubted that would even register with the kid.

Kitty tore into that box with a ferocity that surprised him, dropping to sit cross-legged on the floor right where she was. The books, though, she touched with something close to reverence, running her little hands over the pictures on the covers with soft little oohs and ahhs. “Thank-you soooo much!” she said softly.

“You’re welcome, Kitty,” he replied.

Keith surreptitiously gave him a thumbs up and smiled at him, “Lance plays soccer, too, Kitty. He grew up playing it in Cuba.”

“It’s called football everywhere else, Keef,” Kitty said distractedly, still pouring over the books.

“Yeah, _Keith_ ,” Lance teased, “only you Americans call it soccer!”

“My mistake,” Keith answered, rolling his eyes, “Lance grew up playing football in Cuba.”

“I sure did. I was pretty good, too.” He glanced over at Kitty, but she was completely distracted by her books so he let it drop and turned his attention to Adelpha. The poor thing looked like she was trying not to cry and Lance wanted to kick himself for not mentioning her gift earlier. “Hey- I didn’t forget you, Princess,” he said softly, “their gifts were just on top of yours. Okay?”

Face brightening, Adelpha nodded, as he reached into the bag, “okay.” Electronic roars and excited chatter interspersed with Curtis’s gentle admonishments not to yell in the house made him grin. So far, so good with the gifts.

“Yours is two parts, too,” he said, “but one part is pretty delicate, it’s definitely just for big kids, so it’s in my suitcase. I’m going to give it to you later, when the little kids are in bed. Deal?”

Eyes wide, shoulders squared with pride, she nodded again. “I’m six! I’m a big kid!”

“Oh, I know! I knew you were a big kid the second I saw you,” he said seriously, handing her a box. He was proud of this one, there was no way she had anything like it- because he’d made it himself.

She lifted the lid and pushed the tissue paper aside. “Wow!” she breathed lifting one of the slippers out of the box.

“My Mama’s Mama had a dance school,” he said gently, “she was a _real_ ballerina! So, when I heard you liked ballerinas, I went to talk to her and she still had some of the stuff from the school. So, these are special slippers. When you first start to learn and you are still growing, you don’t have the pointy ballet shoes, you have soft ones- but they aren’t as pretty. So, I made you soft ones that have the pretty ribbons that go up your legs! See? And I made the top part with this special shiny leather that looks like satin that I made your Uncle Keith bring me back from space. These aren’t _just_ for dress-up. These are real ballet shoes that you can wear to your lessons.”

“Really?” she asked, not even looking up at him, so mesmerized by the shoes.

“Mmhmm… I got my Abuela to make sure and look- she wrote a note for your teachers and everything!”

“This is the bestest, bestest, bestest, present ever, ever, ever!” She cried, launching herself at him in a tight hug. “Thank-you, Lance!”

Thrilled at her reaction, he hugged her back and mouthed, “I’m her favorite,” to Keith who laughed and shook his head. “You are very welcome, Adelpha! I’m glad you like them.”

“I love them so much!” she squealed, letting go of him to hug the slippers tight, “I’m gonna keep them forever!”

“Safiya!” Shiro’s voice boomed through the house, “what did we decide about you digging in Papa’s rock garden?”

“I wasn’t digging!” Safiya yelled back, “I was checkin’ for fossohs!”

“You checked those rocks for fossils before I even put them in the- Oh! Keith! Lance! I didn’t hear you guys pull up!” He greeted Keith with a tight hug, “sorry! I meant to be done out back before…”

“I know I checked them before,” Safiya insisted, “but Uncoo Matt said that you hafta re-zamine the evidence to be a scientiss!”

“I am pretty sure she’s right, Shiro,” Lance said with a lopsided grin, letting himself get tugged into one of Shiro’s patented hugs, one hand clasped in the hand of the floating prosthetic and pinned between them. “Good to see you, thanks for having me. I was just getting to know your girls a bit.”

“Papa! Look at the ballet shoes Lance got me!”

“He made them,” Keith corrected, “he didn’t buy them.”

“You made those?” Shiro asked, releasing him to inspect the shoes.

“Mmm… Keith makes it sound more impressive than it is. It’s a fairly simple pattern for the uppers, and I dismantled a pair of store bought shoes and used the soles to make sure they were good enough. My Abuela helped a lot.”

“Sounds pretty impressive to me, too,” Shiro looked at him and Lance felt seventeen again, getting praise from his hero. “This was really thoughtful, thank-you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said with a shrug, “I know what it’s like growing up with siblings that are twins.”

“You have twins in your family, too?” Kitty peered up at him from her spot on the floor.

“I do,” he nodded, “my sister Rachel and my brother Marco are twins. They’re older than me. I’m the youngest.”

“I forgot that Rachel and Marco are twins,” Curtis said, “Veronica told me that ages ago.”

Shiro crouched down beside Kitty, picking up the box, “what did Lance give you? Art supplies?”

“Books about butterflies and moffs!” Kitty answered, holding them up, “and I can color some of’em!”

He tapped the box, “and he gave you some things to color them with.”

“Oh,” Kitty peeked into the box, “cool!”

Keith settled his hands on Lance’s hips, tugging him back to lean into Keith’s strong frame so he could whisper, “see? Didn’t I tell you they’d love the gifts?”

“You did,” Lance answered with a smile, “I didn’t mean to stall us out here in the foyer, though.”

“It’s fine,” Keith assured him, “any minute they’re going to remember that I have to unpack my gifts for them and they’ll be tripping all over each other to lead us upstairs. You doing okay?”

He nodded, smiling at Shiro interacting with the kids and the way Curtis just sort of watched over them all. “I’m fine. Better than fine.”

Keith was right. Within a shockingly short period of time the kids remembered that there were more gifts that they couldn’t get until Uncle Keith unpacked and they regrouped. Lance carried his own suitcase this time, only because Keith had his duffel plus the twins- Kitty perched on his shoulders and Safiya wrapped around him like a koala. 

Trailing behind her siblings, Adelpha shyly slipped her hand into Lance’s and smiled up at him, “I’ll show you where to go.”

“Thanks,” he said with a smile. It wasn’t really needed, the house wasn’t that big, and Shiro and Curtis had no issues with Keith and Lance sharing a room, so all he had to do was follow the sound of the kids telling Keith about the movie they’d watched earlier that day.

“I have a loose tooth,” Adelpha announced halfway up the stairs. “Daddy said that when it comes out, we’ll put it under my pillow for the tooth fairy to come get it and she’s gonna leave me money!”

“Oh yeah, tooth fairy money is the best,” he agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

“Yeah, but I was thinking… I’m gonna get Pidge to help me make a trap for the tooth fairy instead.”

“What?” Lance nearly tripped over his own feet, he was so stunned by the abrupt left turn the conversation had taken.

“Yeah… I love fairies… so I can keep her forever and we can be best friends!”

“Uhhh… sweetie, I gotta tell ya, as someone who has gotten caught in traps before- I never thought the people who set them were going to be my friends. Traps… are kind of mean.”

“Oh…” her face fell, “but I’m a really good friend!”

“I bet you are,” he agreed, “but the tooth fairy doesn’t know that, and it is really hard to believe someone wants to be your friend when they won’t let you go home.”

“I guess… Oh! Maybe I can leave her a note and a present!”

“I think that’s a better idea. Making friends takes time. I mean, you’ve got lots of teeth, right? If you leave a note every time, she’ll get to know you really well.”

“Yeah! I have so many teeth. So many!”

“Yeah, definitely go with the notes and presents plan!”

“I will! Thanks, Lance!”

* * *

Keith’s room was pretty much what he expected- tidy and fairly sparse. The cactus Lance had given him sat proudly on the nightstand next to a framed picture of the two of them from their Voltron days. It must have been one Pidge or Hunk had grabbed on their phones, because Lance didn’t recognize it. He did recognize that they were on Olkarion, and he sort of vaguely remembered the makeshift celebration where it was taken- but he definitely didn’t remember laughing with Keith like that, arms slung over each other’s shoulders in triumphant camaraderie. God, they looked so young!

A few more framed pictures hung on the wall or sat on the dresser- Keith and Shiro from the wedding; all of them in their color-coded Garrison uniforms; Axca and Veronica’s first dance as a married couple; Krolia and Kolivan playing cards in what he thought was the place in the desert. Beyond the photos and the cactus, there wasn’t much by way of personal touches. Keith had a sentimental side, Lance knew, but he tended to carry his momentos with him and they tended to be small, less obvious things. 

Keith was chatting happily with the kids, regaling them with stories of alien planets and the people he’d met since his last visit. They gazed at him adoringly, hanging on his every word as he dug into his duffel bag for their gifts. Knowing they’d be occupied for a while, Lance caught Keith’s eye and held up the bag that still contained the food he’d brought, letting him know he’d be in the kitchen. Keith nodded, the smile he gave him filling Lance with warmth.

Shiro was in the kitchen when he got there, unloading the dishwasher. “Everything alright? I know they can be a bit overwhelming…”

“What? Oh! The kids?” Lance shook his head, “no, not at all. They’re great. Seriously- you’ve got some really awesome kids, _Space Dad_! I just have some food to put in the fridge, if that’s okay.”

“Oh man, that old nickname,” Shiro laughed, “don’t teach it to them- it would get pretty confusing around here if they were calling both of us Dad. I’ll stick to Papa now that I’m Earthside, thanks… and you didn’t have to bring food, Lance- you’re our guest!”

“Sooooooo… you don’t want pastelito de guayaba, ropa vieja, or my Mama’s tamales?” 

“Well, now- I didn’t say _that_ ,” Shiro laughed, “those are some of my favorites!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought! Ummm… I can make garlic knots to go with dinner tomorrow, too… I don’t know what Curtis has planned, so…”

“I’m sure Curtis will be thrilled to have any help in the kitchen you want to give him. He usually puts Keith to work chopping stuff.”

Lance nodded as he stowed the containers of food in the fridge, “mmhmm… yup… Keith and knife work, pretty solid plan.”

“As a general rule, yes,” agreed Shiro, voice dry. “So…”

“So?”

“Do I have to give you the speech?”

“I dunno- you’ve given me lots of speeches over the years. Is this one you’ve already covered?” It was hard to believe that he’d gotten so nervous on the way here. Being around Shiro was comforting in its familiarity. Despite all the changes, Shiro was still Shiro and Lance had spent so much time with this man watching his back that it was almost impossible not to feel safe and comfortable around his former leader.

“I’ve never given you the ‘so my brother’s in love with you’ speech,” he pointed out and Lance froze. 

Almost impossible. Definitely not _actually_ impossible- because he felt anything but safe and comfortable at this precise moment. “No,” he said carefully, “you haven’t… but that’s not a new development.”

“It’s not- but him thinking that you and him might be a permanent thing is…”

Permanent? Keith told Shiro that he thought that his relationship with Lance might be a permanent thing? Or… did Shiro just… decide that from observation? “I…” he took a breath, he hadn’t actually talked about this stuff with anyone but Keith in ages. He hadn’t told anyone _but_ Keith how he felt. “I’m in love with him, too… if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It wasn’t,” Shiro glanced toward the stairs, “I know you have been very careful… with him. I appreciate it and I get why. I do. But Lance… I need to know that you understand the damage you could do. Keith… he’s…”

“A great big ball of soft squishy emotions wrapped in a thin layer of brittle armor?” he suggested. “Yeah, I figured that out a long time ago. He pushes people away because when he gets attached it’s… strong. The last thing I want to do is hurt him, Shiro. I know he deserves the best of everything. I know I’m still… a mess… but I promise, I’m being careful to be very honest with him, and I think that’s all I can do.”

Shiro nodded, his smile changing slightly as he relaxed, “soooo… you’re _in love_ with- what was it you guys used to call him? The emo edgelord?”

“Hey! That was Pidge- I pretty much stuck to ‘stupid Keith with his stupid mullet’!”

“Yeah, that’s so much more flattering,” he snorted.

“I was working through some shit, Shiro,” he grumbled, smiling.

“Oh, I am aware… You know there was a betting pool, right?”

Lance groaned, “so I have been informed. Pidge made a fortune from what I hear.”

“Did you know _Allura_ placed bets?” Shiro asked, eyes serious, even though the smirk was teasing.

“What?!?! No! I didn’t… I mean, she wouldn’t… but… what? Really?!” Allura had taken part in the ‘when will the pining idiots get a clue ™’ betting pool?

Shiro nodded, “she did. She wanted you to be happy. She… could see what we all saw- you two… you just _work_. Even when you were constantly bickering that was pretty obvious.”

“But.. if she… then why?”

“My guess is Coran,” Shiro said with a shrug. “Allura told me about her parents. Early on- neither of us were getting much sleep and we’d talk sometimes. She talked about how much her father and mother loved each other, how Alfor doted on Melenor, how happy they were.”

“Yeah, she told me that, too. I am not sure what that has to do with Coran, though…”

“Aren’t you? Think about how close Allura and Coran were. Think back to what you know about Alfor and _how_ you know it. Remember the actual stories Coran used to tell, what the common thread was… read between the lines, Lance.”

He did. Part of him felt like a dumb kid again, but he did what Shiro asked… and once he did, he realized just how many of Coran’s stories involved Alfor- and no one else. How Allura turned to Coran time and again, without a second thought, for almost parental guidance and reassurance. He thought about some things that Shiro wouldn’t even know about- like Coran’s reaction to finding out the Lance had a date with Allura… and the giant portrait hanging above the fireplace of… ohhhh… “Alfor and Coran… were a couple.”

“I’m not sure how their culture would have defined it, but I think it is pretty clear how they felt about each other, and yet…”

“Alfor still loved Melenor and they were happy together,” he let out a breath, “so Allura… she thought… but she still said yes when I asked her out.”

“And you two were happy together- insomuch as anyone could be given the situation. She was a remarkable woman. The Arusians were right about her, really.”

“The Aru- Oh! The Lion Goddess!” He smiled, “yeah, I guess they were, huh?”

“She is everywhere,” Shiro replied, going quiet for a moment as they both remembered her. Then Shiro cleared his throat and stretched, “so, to recap… break Keith’s heart by being a dumbass and I won’t do a single thing to prevent Krolia from getting her hands on you. Understood?”

“Yeah- wait! What!?!?” Shiro had been so cheerful and matter of fact when he’d’ said it that it took a second for Lance’s brain to match the tone to the actual words. “Krolia!?! Holy shit! That’s… fuck, that’s really scary!”

“Yeah, I know,” Shiro grinned, gripping Lance’s shoulder with his prosthetic and squeezing just a little too tight, “she gets to be the threat. So, I can be the good guy and say that if you are a dumbass and hurt him, _I won’t be mad, I’ll just be very disappointed in you_.”

“That’s not better! Why do you think that is better?! That’s awful!”

“Then don’t be a dumbass,” he pointed out calmly, “and it won’t be an issue.”

“Keith is a grown-up,” Lance pointed out, indignant, “and so am I, for that matter! We aren’t a couple of dumb teenagers… and we sure as hell haven’t _rushed into anything_! It’s been years, Shiro. Half a decade!”

“You think he hasn’t gotten the same kind of speech from your siblings?”

Well, shit. He actually _hadn’t_ thought about that! Keith certainly hadn’t mentioned anything… but… Marco definitely would have. Rachel probably did. Luis and Veronica were a bit less hot-headed than the twins but… yeah, no… they definitely all gave Keith a shovel talk. Why had he never thought of that? Why hadn’t Keith said anything? “Okay. Fair… and I’m trying really hard to resist my natural tendency toward being a dumbass.”

“Alright, good,” Shiro let go of him and crossed the kitchen to pull out the container of pastelitos, sampling one with a happy sigh, “for the record though? He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him. He’s happy with you, Lance. Even better? He’s _hopeful_! He sees a future he likes, one he’s excited for. That’s a big deal. Don’t fuck it up.”

Lance went quiet, letting that sink in. Keith was always so careful not to put any pressure on him about where they were heading. Shiro, clearly, was not as concerned. He had a feeling that Keith would be peeved with his brother for this whole conversation if he knew about it… and while Lance didn’t want to keep secrets, he thought it would be best to talk about this exchange on the way back to Cuba _after_ the visit. But...also… he couldn’t deny that his heartrate kicked up a notch that wasn’t due to anything close to panic at hearing that Keith was ‘hopeful’ and ‘excited’ about moving forward with Lance.

“I’m not going to fuck it up,” he said quietly, as much to reassure himself as to appease Shiro. Keith was too important to him. Far too important. 

“Good!” Shiro smiled, the expression on his face open and sincere and earnest, “I just want you guys to be happy, You know that, right? Not _just_ Keith- all of you… I want you to be happy, too, Lance. I know it’s hard to believe sometimes, but you deserve to be happy again.”

Like Shiro was. It went unsaid but Lance heard it in his voice anyway. The first couple of years, Shiro made a point of calling him every week- checking in and acting like his own personal grief support group. It had been important and helpful… but it had trailed off as Shiro and Curtis got more serious, and as Keith started making a point of visiting regularly. “Yeah,” he mustered a smile, “it’s getting easier to remember that- even when things are dark. Hey- where’s Curtis?”

“He went to the store for a few last minute supplies- most urgently, milk and bread. We can’t seem to keep milk and bread in the house since Safiya figured out how to make herself peanut butter and banana sandwiches.” He shook his head, “although the number that end up getting dropped in the dirt is a little alarming…”

Lance laughed, “oh man, when I was her age I had many a sandwich fall victim to the beach.”

“That… actually makes me feel a bit better,” Shiro shook his head, smiling, “thanks. Hey, Keith!”

“Hey- the kids are setting up a movie. I’m on popcorn duty. Don’t let Curtis catch you eating all those pastelitos!” Keith snagged one of the pastries as he passed Shiro, settling in at Lance’s side with a quiet, private smile.

“Oh god, if I have to watch that thing with the talking gerbils again…” Shiro muttered putting the container of food back in the fridge, “hey girls!?! Lemme help you pick out the perfect movie! Did you know that Lance lovvvvves musicals??”

“What do you think?” Lance whispered conspiratorially, slipping his arm around Keith’s waist, “are we gonna watch a musical, or the thing with the talking gerbils?”

Keith brushed Lance’s hair back from his face, his expression soft, “the gerbil thing. For sure. Shiro can stick to his guns when he needs to… but he won’t over a movie. One of them will get the big saucer eyes and the pout and be extra polite, and he’ll sit through the talking gerbils again.”

“You say this like you are an expert, mi querido…”

Keith’s smile changed and he blushed slightly from the pet name. Lance loved that he still did that. Part of it was probably that Lance wasn’t nearly as liberal with endearments as he once had been, but it still warmed something in him every time he saw it. “Well,” Keith said quietly, “I’ve seen it… and I was pretty small for my age when I met Shiro. ‘All eyes and hair’ Adam used to say. So… I might have maybe laid down the groundwork for the whole ‘look pitiful and be polite’ thing to get out on the hoverbikes more often.”

“Keith!” he gasped, pretending to be scandalized, “how could you??”

“Be glad I did- that’s how I ended up learning that those bikes could actually withstand going over the edge of the cliff if you got the angle and speed right. Shiro was showing off one time when we were out for a race.”

“You saw him do it one time and you were able to pull off the same stunt with an overloaded, off balance hoverbike at least a year later?” He hooked his fingers in the belt loops of Keith’s jeans and tugged him closer, “you are unreal, you know that? Just … reckless… impulsive… brave… best pilot in a generation…”

“I can’t decide if you are scolding me or praising me…”

“I’m being balanced,” Lance said levelly, “I love you. Exactly as you are- faults and all.”

Keith’s eyes lit up, “never gonna get sick of hearing that… I love you, too.”

“I’d say you just aren’t used to hearing it, because it’s so new… but I’m not sick of hearing it from you yet… and it has been years,” his smile grew and the blue glow from his cheek marks intensified. 

“Yeah?” Keith bumped their noses together gently, his purple eyes flicking from Lance’s eyes down to his mouth and back. Oh. He loved that look.

“Yeah,” it was barely a word, just a soft sound on a breath that escaped in a little puff.

“Good,” Keith answered just as his lips ghosted over Lance’s.

A tiny sound caught in Lance’s throat and he floated forward, slotting their mouths together perfectly. Slow, gentle, lazy kisses swept him up. They flooded him with warmth and happy little trills. Keith’s hand rested at the nape of Lance’s neck, holding his head just so, those strong fingers buried in his hair. Lance still clung to those belt loops like they were a lifeline because he knew from experience how easily Keith’s soft, thorough kisses could make him go weak in the knees. How fast they could grow into hungry, frantic things that made him feel like he was going to burn to ash and blow away on the breeze. 

“Don’t mind me… I’m just gonna... put the bread away…”

Keith cleared his throat and stepped back and Lance blinked the pleasant daze away to see Curtis smirking at him. “Back on solid ground yet, there, McClain?” he teased.

“Shut-up, Curtis,” muttered Keith, shaking his hair into his face- a dead giveaway that he was fighting a blush.

“Nope,” Lance answered easily. He refused to be embarrassed about how Keith made him feel. Refused. It had taken him too much work and too much time to get to this place and he was going to enjoy it, dammit. “Still kinda floating on cloud nine.”

“Awwww… so sweet! I miss the early days stuff!”

“Five years in isn’t exactly ‘early days’,” Lance countered, grinning evilly, “maybe Shiro’s just been slacking…”

“Annnnd nope!” Keith’s hand clamped over his mouth, “you are not getting into a pissing contest about this with my brother-in-law. Got it?”

Laughing, he nodded and Keith turned his attention to Curtis, who was whistling in faux-innocence, “and _you_ are not even going to respond to that last comment or I’m gonna teach the kids the bumblebee song!”

Whatever the bumblebee song was, it was a potent threat because Curtis straight up _gagged_ and shuddered, relenting immediately. “Fine!”

“You’re no fun,” he mumbled into Keith’s hand.

“What?” Keith asked, releasing him with a smile.

“I said I love you,” Lance fibbed, winking at him.

“Uh-huh,” Keith’s grin was… breathtaking. The mischief in his eyes stole the breath right out of Lance’s lungs. It still didn’t seem real that he got to be the person that made Keith smile like that, made his eyes sparkle that way. “Boop,” he whispered, poking Lance’s nose lightly, “I love you, too.”

* * *

They watched the talking gerbil movie. It was terrible. Truly awful in the way that only children’s movies about talking animals could be. Shiro broke out wine to cope with the awful slapstick, worse musical numbers, and truly dreadful puns.

By the time the movie ended, half the living room was covered in popcorn and Keith had two sleeping children curled up in his arms. Curtis helped him cart the twins up to bed, while Adelpha stared at Lance so hard that he thought he might ignite.

“Ready for your other gift, huh?” he asked, smiling when she nodded. “Alright, you help your Papa with this mess and I’ll go get it.”

When he returned, the popcorn was mostly cleaned up so he helped with the last of the sweeping and then pulled the small box out of his back pocket. “So, I know your Uncle Keith got you some coral from Mer for your room, which is cool… but… I’m friends with some of the actual, _real live_ mermaids and I called in a favor from one of them- so _this_ is a… well they call it a black pearl, but it is more purple than black… anyway, this is a black pearl that my buddy Swirn found just for you, it’s pretty tiny, so I got it put into this bracelet for you.”

“It’s soooooo pretty!” Adelpha cooed, holding her hand out.

He secured the little copper bracelet around her wrist, “there is a really cool thing about pearls from Mer, though. Hold your wrist like this… then blow across the top like you’re trying to blow bubbles.” She did as he instructed her eyes going wide as sparkles lifted up from the surface of the pearl, dancing in front of her eyes for a few seconds before blinking out.

“Papa! Look!”

“I see it Dell,” Shiro said, smiling at Lance over her head, “it’s very pretty.”

“So, you like it?” Lance confirmed.

“I love it,” she gushed, hugging him again. “Thank-you!”

“You are very welcome,” he assured her.

“Yes, thank-you Lance,” Shiro repeated, “and now a certain six year old needs to go brush her teeth and get changed for bed so her Uncle Keith can read her the next chapter in her book.”

“But, Papa! I want to stay up and visit more!”

“We’re going to be here until Sunday,” Lance pointed out.

“Your Uncle Keith has had a long day, Adelpha,” Shiro coaxed, “he barely stayed awake through the whole movie- he probably wants to go to bed really soon, too.”

“Yeah,” Lance nodded, “he goes to bed super early- like a grandpa. When he visits me in Cuba he tries to stay up extra late and it’s… kinda sad, really. He keeps yawning and rubbing his eyes…” That was a lie. Sleepy Keith fighting to stay awake was quite possibly the most endearing thing Lance had ever seen in his life. He also was more of a nightowl than Lance was letting her think. Half the time, Lance was the one fighting sleep to try and eke out another hour of conversation and cuddling when Keith was staying with him.

“No way!” Adelpha looked horrified, “Uncle Keith is coooool!”

“Shiro,” he tsked, “you really let your kids think that Keith is ‘cool’?”

“He _is_ ,” she insisted, “he takes us on trips in his space ship! An’ he showed me how to do a… umm… a.. Like a punch, but better…”

“A palm heel strike,” Keith laughed as he came into the room.

“Yeah! That!” Adelpha said, fire flashing in her brown eyes.

“Yeah, okay,” Lance relented, “you win. That’s all pretty cool.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

“There was some debate about just how ‘cool’ you are,” Shiro answered, shaking his head. “Adelpha, trust me. Lance has always thought that Keith was very cool. He was just joking around.”

“Hey!” Lance squawked, “I think ‘always’ and ‘very’ are pushing it a little bit!”

“You seem to be forgetting that when Pidge went radio silent on Beta Traz, _I_ could still hear your entire rundown of the team dynamics, there, _Sharpshooter_ ,” Shiro smirked.

“Beta Traz?” Keith looked confused, “you mean when you guys got Slav? Why? What happened on Beta Traz?”

“Nothing!” yelped Lance, glaring at Shiro. “I just… I thought I was escorting Slav and was filling him in on Voltron. No big deal.”

“Shiro?”

“Just that,” Shiro said, “he was talking about the people in Voltron… and I think he mentioned the Alteans, too.”

“What did you say about me?” Keith asked, something close to worry on his face.

“It was years ago,” Lance pointed out, “and I didn’t always put a lot of thought into what I was saying…”

“Well, _that’s_ an understatement,” he laughed. “Nevermind… don’t tell me. If it was when you were at Beta Traz, then that was deep, deep in the whole ‘rivalry’ mess anyway, so it was probably awful.”

“It wasn’t awful! I was trying to inspire confidence in Voltron! I wouldn’t be like ‘we are all awesome except the Red Paladin, ignore him!’ It was something good, I just don’t remember exactly what.”

“Then what were _you_ talking about, Shiro?”

Shiro sighed, “it wasn’t _what_ he said, Keith… it was how he sounded when he said it… and before you ask, no, I don’t think he even realised it at the time. Okay?”

“I’m confused,” Adelpha said matter of factly.

“You and me both, kiddo. How about we just let those two be weird, and you go get ready for bed?” Keith crouched down to talk to her, meeting her eyes and smiling at her, “you just let me know when you’re ready for tuck-ins and I’ll come read to you, okay?”

“Three chapters?” she asked hopefully.

“One chapter,” Shiro countered.

“If you are really quick, I might have time to read two…”

“Okay!” she barrelled toward the stairs, “night Papa! Night Uncle Lance!”

“No running on the stairs,” all the adults chorused at once.

* * *

He’d made garlic knots while Curtis, Shiro, and Keith had played cards, the four of them chatting easily. He liked Shiro’s husband, always had. Curtis wasn’t as serious as Shiro could be, but he wasn’t a goofball either (which Shiro could _also_ be). They just always seemed to have a really good balance between them. Shiro had said that Lance and Keith just worked, and Lance thought the same was true of Shiro and Curtis. 

He loved seeing Keith with them, too. So at ease and relaxed. Playful in a way Lance had seldom seen him with anyone else. It was clear that Keith felt comfortable here, with Shiro and his family. It was a new side to the man he loved- he’d watched Keith grow more comfortable in his own skin over the years. More confident in his ability to lead, his ability to carve out a place for himself wherever he travelled or whoever he worked with. Keith had become incredibly versatile because of his semi-nomadic lifestyle. But he’d never seen Keith like this… there was a comfort to him that was new. He thought it might be because Keith didn’t _have_ to carve our a place for himself here, he didn’t _have_ to fit himself to the needs of the situation. Shiro had made sure that his home was a place that _already had_ space for Keith to occupy. 

Keith had an actual _home_ here, with a family that loved him. He fit in, and that was precious and made Lance get a little choked up. Because… he hadn’t realized how much he wanted that for Keith. How much it would fill him with love to see Keith happy and accepted and appreciated for the amazing, kind, gentle, brave, selfless man he was under all the recklessness and attitude and heroics.

It had been a lovely evening, wrapping up fairly early, because for some reason children always seemed to rise with the sun. So, once the last of the garlic knots were out of the oven and cooling under tea towels- and Keith and Curtis managed to pull Shiro and Lance away from the temptation of warm, buttery baked goods fresh from the oven- the four adults said their good-nights.

He’d had a great night, the kids were awesome, and aside from that bit with the shovel talk, it had been really good to hang out with Shiro and Curtis. He loved that he was getting to see Keith so happy and relaxed and be reminded of the fact that Keith wasn’t as alone as it sometimes seemed when they were together in Cuba. He was glad he’d decided to come on the trip, it was the right choice. He needed to start venturing back into the world again. Maybe next time Keith had a break, they could go visit Hunk, Shay, and Romelle on their ship? 

He had still been ruminating over various possibilities for future trips when he exited the bathroom, after teeth brushing and skin care routines and changing for bed. He’d come back to the bedroom with his little bag of toiletries and seen Keith curled up with a book on his side of the bed. The blankets were turned down for Lance on the other. Surrounded by the framed pictures of the people that mattered most to Keith, the cactus he’d given him- half as a joke- it hit him. 

Hard. 

This wasn’t _just_ ‘Shiro’s house’, it was _Keith’s home_ and Keith was sharing it with him. The children weren’t just ‘Shiro’s kids’ they were _Keith’s niblings_ , people he loved deeply and wanted to introduce to Lance. 

This trip suddenly felt much more significant than it had when he’d agreed to it. Like, he’d always known it was a big step for him… but he’d been too caught up in that to think about what a huge step it was for Keith. God, no wonder Shiro had been worried. This was big. Like _big_ big. Something shifted in his brain and his perspective on Keith completely changed from one breath to the next. 

His badass, death defying, space ranger boyfriend, who had become such a constant to him over the years with his regular, steady presence and his stability and unfailing support was… just a man. A mostly human, very mortal, impossibly fragile man- able to be felled by a bubble in his bloodstream, a bump on the head, a car accident, or an illness. Keith could _die_. There was going to come a day where the sun rose on a universe that no longer contained Keith Kogane. He’d always known that, in the abstract, but for some reason, seeing him like that- so mundane, so _normal_ lying in bed with a book in his very human bedroom- it drove it home in a way Lance had never felt before.

“Lance?” Keith’s voice was soft, but it still managed to startle him. “Hey… it’s okay… I can go crash on the couch if you feel weird about sharing a bed now that you’ve met the kids…”

“What? No,” he shook his head, “the kids? No… they know we’re both sleeping in here. I’m not… that’s not…”

“Are you alright?” Keith sat up, hands already moving to pull the blankets back, ready to jump up to comfort him if he needed it.

“Yeah,” he mustered up a smile and forced his feet to start moving again. Dropping his toiletries bag into his open suitcase as he passed, he climbed into bed beside Keith. “Just… seeing you here… it just…” he shook his head, “I don’t know. I guess I’d never really pictured you actually sleeping in here or something.”

“Lance, what’s wrong?” He’d rolled onto his side, and his expression was concerned as he reached out to brush his fingers through Lance’s hair.

“Nothing. Really.”

Something shuttered in Keith’s eyes and his hand dropped to the bed, “don’t do that. Don’t lie to me. We promised we’d always be honest. That’s all I’ve ever asked of you, Lance. That you tell me the truth.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he tried again.

“Last chance to tell me the truth,” Keith said, his voice going cold, “your marks are dim. No glow at all. So, I _know_ something is wrong. If you don’t want to talk about it, say that. Don’t. Lie. To. Me. Please don’t lie to me, Lance.”

His hand flew to his cheek- how the fuck had he forgotten about the glowing mood ring on his face?!?! “It’s not really something _wrong_ ,” he said softly, “just… new information that I’m processing.”

“Bad information,” Keith sighed, “okay… how can I help you process it?”

How did he do that? How did he always, always, always know what Lance needed? He didn’t push or pry, he just wanted to know how to make what Lance was dealing with easier. Not for the first time, Lance marvelled at the unbelievable luck he had that this man, this incredible man, loved him. He couldn’t believe that he could have ever done anything to deserve being loved by the two _best_ people he’d ever known. 

Allura wasn’t perfect. She had a temper, and could be too competitive and demanding. She made mistakes in who to trust. She couldn’t draw. She told terrible knock knock jokes, and worked too hard, and he’d loved her. She’d been flawed and real, and he was under no illusion that either of those things took away anything from how utterly, majestically, wonderful she’d been. She’d sacrificed herself to save everything everywhere, and she’d loved him.

Keith… Keith was everything. He was far from perfect. Stubborn, too hard on himself, difficult to get close to. He had baggage and flaws and sometimes he made Lance want to rip his hair out. But he was… _everything_. 

“It’s not bad information,” Lance whispered, “I love you so much… I can’t even… it’s like… I say that and it sounds so… normal and common and not enough. Like.. the words aren’t enough. Saying I love you… it’s like… saying that space is big… or the sunset is pretty. It doesn’t do it justice. I don’t…” his voice caught on a sob, “I don’t have the words…”

“Hey,” Keith cooed, pulling Lance into his arms, “it’s okay… I love you, too… and I feel that way sometimes, too. There should be another word… a bigger one… a better one.”

“I just… I saw you here… and you… sometimes,” he struggled to find the words. His thoughts were slippery and fast moving and when he finally grabbed one, it felt like it was burning him. “Sometimes you scare me so much…”

“I… scare… you. Lance? I _scare_ you? I’d never hurt you. Never… Oh God, please tell me you know that I’d never lay a hand on-”

“No… not like that… You are…” He pulled away, sitting up and clutching at his hair trying desperately to string his churning emotions into some kind of order. “You are… my… universe. You’re everything. You are… my heart. Keith, you are _my heart_. You’re my air, my ocean, my Earth, my stars… you’re everything. _Everything._ And… and…” He gestured feebly, “and you are… so, so, so mortal… and so… sometimes… you scare me so much… because I can lose you… and I came in here… and it wasn’t my safe little pocket of Cuba where I can hide away from the big scary world… and it wasn’t your ship- that brings you to your mother and Kolivan and the Blades and the dozens of awesome warriors that watch your back when you are in tough spots that I never have to see and I can make myself not think about. I saw you… in bed, in your room, in your _home_ just… reading a book and I realized that you were letting me in… sharing your life with me- not the adventures that don’t seem real anymore because it’s been so long for me since I was up there- _this_ life… and… you’re just a man, but you are _my heart_ and I… I can’t… I can’t live without my _heart_ Keith!”

“Okay,” Keith said, oddly calm, “okay… I’ll reach out to Kolivan tomorrow. I’ll tell him I’m done. Okay?” Tenderly, he brushed tears Lance hadn’t known he’d shed from his face, familiar callouses stroking his skin. Keith smiled, nodding a little, “no more missions. No more space. Okay? I’m done.”

“You- you’re… what?” Lance blinked at him, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

“I’m done,” Keith repeated, sure and steady and resolute. He caught Lance’s hands in his own and squeezed them reassuringly. “I’m going to retire. Find a job here on Earth. Work on your farm until I figure things out, maybe. I’m staying. Whatever you need.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Yes, I can. I’m not locked into some kind of contract, Lance. I can leave whenever you want.”

“No- that’s not what I mean… I mean… you can’t give that up f _or me_! You can’t walk away from such a huge part of your life because I am freaked out!”

“I’m not going to put you through this kind of fear if I don’t have to, and I don’t have to. You didn’t ask me, I decided.”

“It’s not _space_ that scares me!” Lance protested, “it’s not your job… it’s… how I feel… how _much_ I feel. I don’t want to change it. I don’t want to change anything! You… you’re perfect… well… not _perfect_ perfect… just… perfect for me. Staying on Earth won’t make me less afraid of losing you, Keith! I’m always going to be terrified of losing you! If you get sick, I’ll be scared. Running errands will scare me. Seeing you in the ocean. When you do that thing where you’re snoring and you just… stop… for half a minute before you start again- I’ll be scared that that’s it. That’s all the time we have. You’re my _heart_ and hearts aren’t immortal, Keith. I don’t want to wrap you up in bubble wrap and lock you away somewhere safe, because that place doesn’t exist, and because you love your life and you do so much good for the universe… and I love you exactly as you are. I don’t want to change you. I don’t want to change anything. I just… I need to process this… I need to figure out how to live… around this.”

“Okay,” he pulled Lance close, stroking his hand down Lance’s back, “okay… no decisions tonight. No calling Kolivan tomorrow. We’ll… just… figure this out. Okay? That’s what we do, right? We figure out how to make things work, so we can be happy together.”

He nodded helplessly, clinging to Keith, “yeah… that’s what we do.”

“I love you, Lance,” he breathed, “everything you were saying… I feel that, too. You’re… my heart, too. You’re not the only one feeling that. We’re in this together, baby. We’ll figure it out, because we love each other.”

“Together,” he repeated, taking comfort in that, and in the strong arms holding him close, and the sure, steady beat of Keith’s heart under the hand Lance had flattened between them.

“We make a good team, sweetheart,” Keith whispered, pressing kissing to Lance’s forehead. “Keith and Lance, hand in hand…”

“Not sure when this crosses from comforting me to mocking how clueless I was at seventeen,” Lance said after a moment.

Softly, hands cradled his face. The forehead kisses turned into little pecks on the cheeks, then one on the tip of his nose. He couldn’t help but smile under the reverent little brushes of lips over his skin. “Ahhh, there we go,” Keith said softly, “there’s my lightning bug. Alright. Come on.” His head jerked toward the door, already slipping out of the bed, “grab the blanket at the foot of the bed, and be quiet in the hall- Kitty’s a light sleeper.”

“Where are we going?” he asked, but Keith already had the door open and his only answer was to shush Lance. They moved through the dark house with a silent swiftness learned years ago on stealth missions. Keith led him out onto the back deck and down the stairs. He hadn’t seen Shiro’s backyard yet, and it was dark enough that he couldn’t really make out many details, but he could see the shed that had a greenhouse attached to it, and the swingset, and the rock garden he’d mentioned. He spotted something that might be a fire pit, or one of those smoker things, and a row of trees lining one side of the yard. The trees seemed to be Keith’s destination, and he’d grabbed Lance’s hand when they’d ducked through the french doors, so Lance just let him drag him across the grass.

“You wanna sit? Or lie down?” Keith asked him quietly, “we kinda need to decide before we get in the hammock.”

“We’re getting in a hammock?” Lance asked, too surprised to do anything else.

“Mmhmm… Okay, I’m calling it, we’re lying down.” In the low light, Lance could only just barely make out Keith fussing with the blanket and then stretching out on the hammock. “So, trust me here, the easiest way to do this is for you to start off lying on me and then we’ll shift until we’re comfortable.”

“Keith,” he laughed, “I’m pretty familiar with hammocks- but it definitely sounds like there’s a story there…”

“No story, just one word: Kosmo.” Keith replied as Lance crawled over him and got settled. The blanket was chilly when Keith draped it over them both, but it warmed up quickly.

“Awww, poor pup,” Lance cooed. “So… you gonna explain why we’re out here?”

“Lance,” he said softly, tracing his fingers down the line of Lance’s jaw, “you just got all spooked about the fact that I can die… I’m not the only person you need to be talking to right now… or… maybe not even talking… but, that fear- that’s not _just_ about me… and we didn’t greet the first star, so… I just thought… it might help for you to feel… closer to her, you know?”

“Allura,” Lance whispered, “I fell apart because I don’t know how to deal with how much I love you and you thought that I needed to feel closer to Allura?”

Keith shrugged one shoulder, “she’s part of you. Loving her is part of who you are. I’ve always known that. I’m not trying to… crowd her out… or replace her. She’s part of _us_ and that’s okay. I love her, too… not the same, but I do. I just… when I get freaked out about losing you- part of it is because of my parents… Shiro… and yeah, Allura, too. It all gets tangled together. So… yeah… feeling closer to Allura might help right now… and if seeing me in my room was the thing that set it off… well… this is not my room. We’ve slept under the stars before.”

“You know,” Lance muttered, “we used to think you were bad at feelings. You know, because you were so prickly and angry and awkward- God you used to be so awkward sometimes… but we were wrong. You… are amazing. I don’t know how you always know _exactly_ what I need, what messed up shit my brain is throwing at me and how to navigate it.”

“Loss is something I understand,” he said, matter of factly. Like it wasn’t a lesson he learned through hellish levels of pain. Like it was some cool little party trick he’d taught himself. Like, walking with Lance as he found a path out of the devastation of losing his first love was something as simple as pulling a coin out of the air or tying a cherry stem into a knot with his tongue.

“I love you so much.” Shifting in the hammock, he kissed Keith, trying to show him without the paltry, inadequate words just how deeply he meant that.

Eventually, he figured, kissing Keith would lose that magic… it hadn’t yet, though. Maybe it wouldn’t ever. He’d like that. He’d love it if melting into Keith’s kisses, held in his arms like some kind of precious treasure, always made his worries fade away to virtually nothing, always made his heart feel like a helium balloon trying to float away, always made him feel… so safe… so perfectly, completely _safe_.

Nothing in the universe could hurt him when he was surrounded by this man. Not even his own fears and grief. There was no doubt, no regret, no second guesses. Keith tasted like hope. He felt like a lungful of oxygen.

By the time their lips parted and Keith kissed his forehead, he couldn’t really believe he’d been so frightened.

“Sometimes,” Keith whispered, “I get scared, too… but the ones that get to me are different… I… have nightmares sometimes… that you decided I’m not worth it… the risk of getting hurt… or that you realize you don’t love me, can’t love me… that all this… was a mistake… and you just… turn your back on me… like I’m nothing.”

He lifted his head, chin resting on his hand on Keith’s chest. The blue cast from his marks gave just enough light for him to see Keith’s face and the quiet terror there. “Won’t ever happen,” he promised, “I’m so in love with you, Mullet. All the way down to my bones.”

“I’m your heart,” he whispered, something like awe creeping into his voice.

“Mmmhmm… you’re… everything, mi querido,” Lance nodded, feeling the bones in his hand as his chin moved back and forth, “you have been for a while now… this love has deep roots… my grandfather used to say that. He’d say, ‘nieto, this love has deep roots, and will live a hundred years, like a palm tree.’ It never made sense before. It does now.”

“Deep roots,” Keith echoed, a smile tugging at his lips, “I like that.”

“I could never turn my back on you, Keith. You are… the best part of my life.”

“Feeling better?”

“Mmmhmm…” he yawned, settling his head back into the crook of Keith’s shoulder. Strong arms tugged him closer, the hammock curling up on either side of them like a warm embrace. The night air was colder than he’d remembered from his time at the Garrison, but the blanket was thick and warm, and Lance was sure that Keith’s Galra genes meant he generated more heat than a human, because he’d never known anyone cozier to curl up with.

“My sleepy lightning bug,” Keith mumbled softly, his thumb brushing over one of the crescents on Lance’s cheek, “flickering and twinkling… best nightlight…”

  
  


* * *

He woke to giggles. Followed by Keith shushing the gigglers.

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled into Keith’s chest, not wanting to leave the haven of his arms, or expose more of his skin to the chill morning air he felt on his face. “Just… five minutes…”

“Papa wanted to know how Lance likes his eggs,” one of the kids- he wasn’t awake enough to identify which one- said.

“Shiro’s cooking?” His eyes cracked open and he flinched from the morning sun, “did we do something awful? Are we being punished?”

The giggles returned, Adelpha shaking her head at him, “no, silly- _Daddy_ is cooking! Papa was just the one who asked!”

“Oh thank God,” he yawned, “morning Adelpha. Morning Safiya… annnnnnnnd?”

“Kit! Today I’m Kit!”

“Good to know- morning Kit.”

“How come you guys are out here?” Safiya asked.

“Sometimes it is nice to sleep under the stars,” Keith said, his hand rubbing over Lance’s back.

“Told’ja it wasn’t cuz of popcorn farts,” Adelpha hissed to her sister.

“What?!?!” Keith yelped, sounding so shocked and outraged that Lance couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“Rude,” he teased, “the grown-ups barely even got _any_ popcorn because there were three very hungry Shirogane-Hatzi-Popcorn-Monsters hogging allll the snacks!”

They were still laughing at him when the door opened and Curtis stuck his head out, “Papa’s going to eat all the blueberry waffles if you guys don’t get in here and then you’ll be stuck with the boring plain ones!”

This was apparently a fate worse than death based on the way the three of them bolted for the house without so much as a goodbye. Lance shook his head and Keith laughed softly, “frozen waffles for breakfast is a rare treat. It’s usually oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit.”

“That sounds better than frozen waffles,” Lance observed, cuddling closer.

“You’re not four or six… and you don’t have oatmeal, yogurt and fruit for breakfast six days a week.”

“Ahh… it’s their version of food goo. Got it,” tipping his face up, he smiled at Keith, “good morning. Sleep okay?”

“Slept great,” he answered, “you?”

“Like a baby.”

“So… feeling a bit better… not as… overwhelmed?” Keith ran his hands through Lance’s hair, “if you need to, I can tell Shiro we’re going to head out after dinner. He won’t even ask me to explain… he knows this is a big step for you an-”

“Keith, stop. I’m done hiding away when I get spooked. Allura died seven years ago. Seven _years_. You have been exactly what I needed every step of the way. So patient, so understanding… you have no idea how much that means to me. But,” he sighed, “I am in love with you and I want to be with you properly… I want… more than just our time together in Cuba. I want… this… I want to visit our friends and our family and to travel with you and do things that aren’t all about me and my family and my home and my… stuff.”

“Lance-”

“For five years you have done absolutely everything about us on my terms, Keith. You’ve been waiting for me to catch up to you, to be ready. I know you’d keep doing that without complaining if I needed you to… but… let’s be real- you are too damn self-sacrificing, mi querido. You always have been. I might freak out sometimes still. I… need to relearn how to… not be a hermit, I guess. There’s going to be days when it feels like too much or I need to fall apart. That’s okay. We’re stronger than that. We’ll figure it out. Right?”

“Yeah,” Keith whispered, smiling, “we’ll figure it out.”

Lance nodded, “so… yeah… I’m… done with waiting to be ready. I’m _choosing_ to be ready. I want to do this right. I want us to stop having like your life and my life and then this kind of pocket reality when we are together. I want us to just… live our lives… for real. Like… a normal couple.”

“A normal couple,” his smile grew until Lance was pretty sure it _had_ to hurt and he kissed him quickly, “I like that. I like it a lot.”

**Author's Note:**

> The following work is VERY SAD. It is a graveside fic with heavy themes of death and mourning. Please PLEASE read the tags, summary, and notes before jumping into the story! I don't want anyone getting hit with unexpected heavy angst!


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